Author: Eirene

Burdened

EireneLeave a comment

There is a great burden on my heart today for a particular group of people. I meet them all the time….they are everywhere. They come from widely varied walks of life, from the affluent to the homeless. They may be young or old, from this country or another. But they have this in common — they believe they are saved, but they are not. “You shouldn’t judge people”, you may say. I appeal to the Scriptures which tell us that we can be known by our fruit. A saved life produces God-glorifying fruit. A saved life hates sin. Many people look back to the day that they said those “magic words” we call the sinner’s prayer as their hope for eternal life. However there has been no lasting change in their lives. They still love their sin. Yet because they said the “magic words”, they believe that God is satisfied and they’ll meet up with Him in heaven someday….but they have no love for Him here; no desire for Him; no yearning for holiness or hunger for His presence. Salvation is not merely heaven. Salvation is God Himself. The reality of HIM as the all-encompassing priority, focus and joy of our life.

So many have been deceived. While joyfully indulging in whatever makes them happy at the moment no matter what God has said about it, they demonstrate who actually is their Lord —- themselves. I’m not just talking about the drunkards, the addicts, and the prostitutes, but the good, moral, law-abiding citizens who fill up their lives with everything but God. Maybe He gets a Sunday service every now and then. Maybe a daily prayer or devotional. But HE IS GOD and He deserves every moment of every day, not just the crumbs that are left over after we’ve had our fill.

If you think you’re good enough for heaven, you are wrong. No one is good enough. If you think your religious activities will earn you heaven, you are wrong. We will never be saved by works. But what we can never do and never earn, God offers freely through the giving up of His Son to death on the cross for our sin. He paid the penalty that we deserved to pay that we might have His righteousness, which we could never deserve. There is no other way of salvation apart from Jesus Christ. NONE.

If people only knew Jesus…..really knew Him, they would gladly forsake all sin and everything else of this world to walk with Him. On that day when they step into eternity, so many are going to be surprised to hear those fearful words, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you.” There will be no remedy. There will be no hope.

My heart aches for you. And the heart of God pleads for you to consider your ways, turn from your sin and be saved.

Complete

EireneLeave a comment

Colossians 2:10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

I was so encouraged to read the definition of the word “complete”. Look at this:

You are caused to abound in Him

You are furnished and supplied liberally in Him

You are filled to the top in Him so that nothing shall be wanting

You are made complete in every particular in Him

For all of us who have ever felt discouraged by the weakness of our own life, remember….we don’t live by that life anymore. We live by the life of Another. And that Life lacks nothing. What a glorious truth!

Vessel of Honor

Eirene3 Comments

2 Timothy 2:20-21 “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”

If the way we live our lives and the things we choose to abstain from affect our usefulness in advancing the kingdom, WHY would we allow anything in our lives that hinders us from being that vessel of honor?

Time is short. Live ready to be useful to your King.

This Present Evil World

EireneLeave a comment

Galatians 1:3-4 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father.

Our mighty Lord Jesus has saved us who have called upon His name from the penalty and power of sin, opened our eyes and turned us from darkness to light. Because of Him, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But although we are not of the world, we are still in the world… this present evil world.

It is a world system that is in view in this verse, with its thoughts, opinions, and values which continually press us and attempt to mold us into its image. The world is not content with merely being corrupt. It insists upon actively exerting its corrupting influence upon our lives. Not all at one time, mind you. Little by little, numbing us by increasingly graphic scenes of violence and immorality on the news and in entertainment, the distracting nature of current events, and an endless variety of cares of this world. All of it numbing us and pulling us away from that which is truly important.

The will of God is that we would be free of that influence, however if we continue to immerse ourselves in it, then we will undoubtedly be affected by it. How can we be sensitive to the Spirit of God when our souls have been polluted (and oftentimes entertained) by the corruption of this world?

This verse has been a strong reminder to me today. Maybe it will be helpful to someone else.

Unashamed Worship

EireneLeave a comment

Matthew 26:7 “a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.”

Right up in the middle of everybody

They didn’t like it
It wasn’t proper
She didn’t care
He was worth it

Those who waited for the “proper” time had no opportunity to anoint Him, for He was already risen. (Luke 24:1-3)

She may not have understood the significance of what she did. But she was one who sat at His feet, learning Him, loving Him….and so when her heart was moved within her, she was unashamed to worship Him.

May we learn a lesson from her.

Live After Five Outreach – October 14, 2016

EireneLeave a comment

I saw him sitting on the curb reading one of our gospel tracts so I walked over to talk to him. Jerry was an older man who looked like he had lived a rough life. He talked about God in a generic kind of way that I’ve heard far too often. He’s thankful for the good in his life and attributes it to God watching over him. He’s not born again but believes that he is a good person and feels sure that God is satisfied with that. He believes that the Bible is God’s word….that is, until he doesn’t like what it says. By his own admission Jerry is given to regular drunkenness. In his mind, he doesn’t consider it to be a problem to God. When I pointed Jerry to the verses that spoke about drunkenness as a sin, he began to dismiss the Bible as a book written by men. And all because it touched the sin that he loved. As I talked to Jerry about the grace of God through Jesus Christ…about forgiveness of sin and deliverance from its power, he sat on that curb and cried. Yet he was unwilling to part with that one sin. I made sure he understood the consequences of that decision. He thanked me for talking to him and was wiping away another tear as I walked away. Please pray for Jerry to receive the love of the truth and be saved.

Building the kingdom

EireneLeave a comment

“Building the kingdom of God must be our primary objective in life, but the underlying motivation must be love for the King. The only way a person can be truly committed to the kingdom of God is to be consumed with love for Christ. If we are driven by a philosophy or an ideology, a desire to make the world a better place or to see a new order established, then our ambition falls into the same category as communism, Marxism, socialism, and all the other “isms”. Seeking the kingdom of God is in a category all by itself because it stems from a fountain deeper than any motive in this world – divine, supernatural love for the King. This love is the foundation and the driving force behind the kingdom that will endure long after all others have crumbled to dust.” Daniel Kolenda

Compelling them to come

Eirene3 Comments

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, “Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, “Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” Luke 14:15-24

This is no ordinary supper. This is a parable about eternal life. At the cross everything was completed….all has been made ready. So now the invitation is given —– come to the banquet the Father has prepared. And yet, many…..so very many, refuse to come. What a sad reality this is, that there are many who reject the offer of eternal life. But heaven is not hindered by man’s rejection. God is a pursuer. He started by sending His servants with an invitation. Then He sends His servants to bring them in. And finally, the servants are instructed to compel them to come. As the hour becomes later, the call to come into the kingdom becomes more urgent and intense.

Do you feel the urgency of heaven? God is not willing that any should perish. We shouldn’t be willing that they perish either. I think we are well beyond the days of invitations, and even of bringing them in. It is time to compel them to come. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, let’s be about the Father’s business that His house may be filled. It’s not a day to be fearful and timid. Eternity is at stake. Souls are in the balance.

It shouldn’t end that way

EireneLeave a comment

Yesterday I had jury duty. After they had given us all our instructions, we just had to sit there and wait a few hours for them to choose who would stay and who would be sent home. So while we waited, they played a movie on the 2 large screens in the room. It was called “Taking Chance.” Normally I would have gone into the quiet room to read, but for whatever reason I just stayed in my seat as the movie began. The basic storyline was as follows: The main character was a Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps who worked an office job, but he seemed to feel some stirrings of guilt because was not a part of the very conflict that he had been trained for. He volunteered to escort the remains of a Marine who was killed in combat to the family for burial. It seemed as though on the whole trip he was having an awakening as he considered the young man who was killed in battle as he was sitting safely in a cubicle.

Any my heart was almost exploding because it was like watching a parable of the church….many safe and comfortable on the sidelines while others are risking everything on the battlefield. But there are these moments of clarity when we see…..eternal realities…..God’s purposes….and ourselves somewhere on the outside. It is a moment of truth. A valley of decision. A choice must be made.

I anticipated the ending. He would leave everything and enlist for a tour of duty in Iraq. That was the only reasonable ending. But it wasn’t the ending. He arrived home to his nice house, hugged his wife and kids and shut the door. And the movie was over.

And everything in me screamed “NO…it’s not supposed to end like that!!”

People of God…..please….don’t let that be our ending. We have been trained and equipped for battle and everyone is needed for the fight. It is a moment of truth. A valley of decision. A choice must be made.

Not my will

EireneLeave a comment

“….not my will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42

Jesus prayed it. Jesus lived it. Many times in Scripture He talked about how important what the Father wanted was to Him:

  •  “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” John 5:30
  • “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”  John 6:38
  • “Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19
  • “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” John 12:49

This same thing is what He taught us to pray: “ So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Luke 11:2

It was important to Jesus. We would all, as Christians, say that it is important to us as well.   Because God wills some pretty amazing stuff – salvation, healing, deliverance, and more. And we say, “Your will be done Lord! Amen!” But there’s that other part of Luke 22:42 that maybe we don’t find so exciting – NOT MY WILL.

We are very happy to fit the will of God in between our will, of course as long as it doesn’t squeeze us too tight. But to exclude our will entirely? Deny our own rights and desires and wishes and wants and pleasures and comforts and conveniences and entertainments? Surely that isn’t what it means.

That is exactly what it means.

It isn’t – my will + His will

It isn’t – His will most of the time

It is- His will regardless of my will

“….not my will, but Yours, be done.” What glory there must be in the life surrendered to this.